# CVE-2023-1636: Incomplete container isolation

> Attackers can access Barbican data if a neighboring service is compromised in all-in-one OpenStack deployments due to shared container namespaces.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 24 Sep 2023
- **Updated:** 24 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6rx9-c2rh-3qv4, PYSEC-2026-1214

## What is CVE-2023-1636?

CVE-2023-1636 is a medium-severity vulnerability in OpenStack RDO, published on 24 Sep 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability was found in OpenStack Barbican containers. This vulnerability is only applicable to deployments that utilize an all-in-one configuration. Barbican containers share the same CGROUP, USER, and NET namespace with the host system and other OpenStack services. If any service is compromised, it could gain access to the data transmitted to and from Barbican.

Weakness: CWE-653 (Improper Isolation or Compartmentalization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-1636?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including barbican. It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `barbican` | PyPI | All versions to 16.0.0 | None |
| `barbican` | PyPI | All versions to 16.0.0 | None |
| `barbican` | PyPI | All versions to 16.0.0 | None |

Products: Openstack Barbican, Redhat Openstack Platform.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-1636?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-1636 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-1636 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-1636 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in OpenStack RDO

- [CVE-2022-23451](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23451/): Barbican authorization flaw before v14.0.0 (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2023-1633](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1633/): Insecure barbican configuration file leaking credential (medium 6.6)
- [CVE-2022-3100](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-3100/): Auth bypass in Red Hat OpenStack Platform (medium 5.9)
- [CVE-2022-23452](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23452/): openstack-barbican Denial of Service vulnerability (medium 4.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-1636 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-1636 is a medium-severity vulnerability in OpenStack RDO, published on 24 Sep 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-1636 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- barbican (PyPI): affected all versions up to 16.0.0; no fix listed
- barbican (PyPI): affected all versions up to 16.0.0; no fix listed
- barbican (PyPI): affected all versions up to 16.0.0; no fix listed

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1636/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1636/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-1636
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-1636
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-1636

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1636/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.